RolePlay onLine

The Honorbound

It is the year 1190 in Languedoc, a southern province of the dissolving Kingdom of the Franks. King Philip II has just styled himself King of France and is busy with the Third Crusade in far away lands. The larger conflicts have yet to reach the small but growing market town of Saint Volusien where our story starts but unrest is indeed brewing.

For decades the church and crown have expressed their displeasure at the Albigensian lack of respect for authorities. Local church councils have repeatedly condemned the cathar heretics. Thus far the counts of Toulouse have managed to keep the church and crown at bay but 11 years ago the Third Lateran Council decreed that all Albigenses should be put into prison and have their property confiscated.

What happens in the days and years to come is still anyone's guess. In Saint Volusien life goes on. Count Ramon Roger is off fighting in the crusade, leaving his wife Emma de Trencavel to rule in his stead. The half-finished castle build have all but ground to a halt since her coffers are growing empty and for a couple of weeks no stone is delivered from the quarry. With the rumors of disease and some recent acts of random violence the mood in town is tense.

Focus of the game where it concerns the player characters will be at the micro level rather than macro: meaning personal struggles -physical, practical and otherwise- will be at the forefront and the larger political schemes is something that mostly happens somewhere else.